High-quality genome sequence assembly of R.A73 Enterococcus faecium isolated from freshwater fish mucus.

BACKGROUND: Whole-genome sequencing using high throughput technologies has revolutionized and speeded up the scientific investigation of bacterial genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) have been extensively used in fermentation and more recently as probiotics in food products that promote health. Genome sequencing and functional genomics investigations of LABs varieties provide rapid and important information about their diversity and their evolution, revealing a significant molecular basis. This study investigated the whole genome sequences of the Enterococcus faecium strain (HG937697), isolated from the mucus of freshwater fish in Tunisian dams. Genomic DNA was extracted using the Quick-GDNA kit and sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq2500 system. Sequences quality assessment was performed using FastQC software. The complete genome annotation was carried out with the Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology (RAST) web server then NCBI PGAAP. RESULTS: The Enterococcus faecium R.A73 assembled in 28 contigs consisting of 2,935,283 bps. The genome annotation revealed 2884 genes in total including 2834 coding sequences and 50 RNAs containing 3 rRNAs (one rRNA 16 s, one rRNA 23 s and one rRNA 5 s) and 47 tRNAs. Twenty-two genes implicated in bacteriocin production are identified within the Enterococcus faecium R.A73 strain. CONCLUSION: Data obtained provide insights to further investigate the effective strategy for testing this Enterococcus faecium R.A73 strain in the industrial manufacturing process. Studying their metabolism with bioinformatics tools represents the future challenge and contribution to improving the utilization of the multi-purpose bacteria in food.

In vitro probiotic profiling of novel Enterococcus faecium and Leuconostoc mesenteroides from Tunisian freshwater fishes.

Novel lactic acid bacteria isolated from different organs of freshwater fish were examined for their potential application as probiotics in raw and processed foods. Four isolates of Enterococcus faecium and Leuconostoc mesenteroides were identified at the molecular level by 16S rRNA sequencing and random amplification of polymorphic DNA - polymerase chain reaction, and their antimicrobial activity against a panel of pathogens and food-poisoning bacteria was investigated. The whole bacteriocins of the 4 isolates were characterized by enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequences in PCR. The isolates exhibited high inhibitory activities against food-borne pathogens and spoilage microbial species and have significant probiotic profiles, since they survived at pH 3.0 and in the presence of bile salts, pancreatin, and pepsin, without any detectable hemolytic activity. Further, moderate heat resistance, adhesion ability to steel surfaces, and sensitivity to clinically relevant antimicrobial agents were revealed for all the isolates. These results highlight the specific probiotic properties of the strains and give evidence for potential application in minimally processed foods subjected to moderate heat processing.